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Posts Tagged ‘Bibliocycle’

Visits to Boston events include pop-up story times, book checkouts, and card sign ups

The BPL Bibliocycle, a bike and book trailer partnership with Boston Bikes, returns to the streets of Boston in its second season, visiting street fairs, markets, and community events to meet people where they are and deliver library services on-the-go. The first stop for the Bibliocycle will be on Saturday, May 16, at the Kite and Bike Festival in Franklin Park.

“This program provides an abundance of educational opportunities for community members at a variety of local cultural events. I encourage Bostonians to utilize this great resource and learn more about the free services our library system offers,” said Mayor Martin J. Walsh. (more…)

Congratulations to the Boston Public Library Bibliocycle for making the Boston GlobeBEST OF THE NEW list. The Bibliocycle is featured in the Globe Magazine (January 11, 2015):

Bibliocycle. This pedal-powered bookmobile — a trailer pulled behind a bicycle — makes the rounds of farmers’ markets, arts festivals, and other city celebrations. The joint project between the Boston Public Library and Boston Bikes brings many BPL services, including library card sign-ups, book checkouts, demonstrations of BPL’s digital resources, and help with reference questions, directly to the people. In 2014, the Bibliocyle ran from early July through early November. It returns this spring.

Boston Public Library’s newest outreach program, the Bibliocycle – a bike and book trailer – has visited many community events, farmers markets, and fairs this past summer and will continue through September. Massachusetts residents can sign up for a Boston Public Library card, borrow books, see demonstrations of the library’s digital resources, and more when the Bibliocycle visits. Recent visits include the Uphams Corner Street Fair, ParkScience Children’s Festival in Franklin Park, and the Family Nurturing Center’s Back to School Backpack event in Dorchester.

To date, the Bibliocycle program has more than 450 visitors, book checkouts in a variety of genres, library card signups, story times, and seedshare packets distributed. Librarians are taking note of the types of popular books checked out in order to adjust what they bring to an event, given the Bibliocycle has a limit to how many items it can safely carry.

“It is incredibly rewarding to help find new ways to bring the library’s services to the residents of Boston, while at the same time encouraging them to consider the bicycle as a means of transportation and exercise,” said Katrina Morse, Program Organizer and Generalist Librarian, Grove Hall Branch of the Boston Public Library.

Emily Meyer, the children’s librarian at the Uphams Corner Branch of the Boston Public Library, recently completed her first stop with the Bibliocycle at the Dudley Town Farmer’s Market. This summer, the Biblocycle travels throughout Boston’s neighborhood to serve the city’s residents where are – out and about. View the complete schedule of stops at www.bpl.org/community.

Why did you want to get involved in this outreach effort?

I want the chance to interact with people I don’t normally see in my library; they might not know what libraries can offer or where branches are located. Seeing new faces and hopefully making them into regular library users is one of the program’s big goals.

What has the reaction been so far?

People are excited – we had kids ride over here with us and cars honked in support the whole way. This is a new and a different form of library service.

How long have you been biking and what do you like about it?
I’ve been biking since early childhood and biked as a means of transportation during college. Now I mostly bike for recreation on the bike paths in and around the city. I’m hoping through participating in this program I will become more comfortable with urban biking and start using my bike to get to work when the weather is nice. My favorite things about biking are the exercise benefits and the ability to avoid getting stuck in traffic.

What do you hope the program accomplishes?

We hope this brings our outreach efforts to a new level through reaching people where they are; whether they don’t have the time to visit a location or the hours don’t work for them. As we get a better idea of what they need and are looking for, we can tailor our services both with our outreach and our branch programs.

Boston Public Library’s Bibliocycle had a successful launch. This librarian-powered outreach program is offered in partnership with Boston Bikes, which is part of the City of Boston’s Transportation department. Look for the Bibliocycle at farmer’s markets, fairs, and other community events throughout the city. Features of the program include library card sign-up, book checkout, demonstrations of Boston Public Library’s digital resources, and help with reference questions.

“This initiative gives the library the opportunity to expand our reach and to connect with communities throughout the city. Through efforts like the Bibliocycle, Boston Public Library team members can meet people where they already are, which is out and about in the neighborhoods,” said Katrina Morse, program organizer and generalist librarian at the Grove Hall Branch. “Some of these residents may not otherwise visit a library location in their neighborhood, and that is who we would like to connect with the most.”

The mobile collection of up to 50 books includes new releases, bestsellers, cooking, gardening, picture books, and bike repair titles. On select dates, Boston Bikes team members will accompany librarians in order to provide bike and healthy living tips.

“With Bibliocycle, Boston Bikes is excited to integrate biking into everyday life. It is a great way for us to inspire healthy minds and healthy bodies throughout the city,” said Nicole Freedman, director of bicycle programs for the City of Boston.

BPL’s Bibliocycle travels to neighborhoods throughout the summer and into the fall. The complete schedule of Bibliocycle visits can be found at bpl.org/community. The checkout limit is 10 items per person. Fines and book returns are not handled by the Bibliocycle team. Those have to be taken care of at one of Boston Public Library’s many brick-and-mortar locations.